Electrically-operated price-card.



P. L. DIRKING. ELEGTRICALLY OPERATED PRICE CARD.

APPLIOATION rum) 53.14, 1908.

. 926,393 Patented June 29,1909.

WITNESSES H {son N VE N T019 Percyl. ih'zrix '71.

A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTQ.

PERCY L. DIRKING,

MINER AND ONE-SIXTH TO JOSEPH A.

or SPOKANE, wasr-nueron, ASSIGNOR or onn-srxrn 'ro JULIAN D.

rnLKnY, or

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

ELECTRICALLY-OPERATED PRICE-CARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1909.

Application filed February 14, 1908. Serial No. 415,817.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERCY L. DIRKING, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State ofWashington, have invented a new and Improved Electrically-OperatedPrice- Card, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to signs, my more particular object being toproduce an electrically-operated price card of simple construction andpossessing certain structural advantages, as hereinafter described andpointed out in the accompanying claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the casing used for containingthe mechanism, this casing being provided with a slot through which themovable card may be seen; Fig. 2 is a substantially central verticalsection through the casing, showing the card, the reciprocating platformupon which it is mounted, the magnetic mechanism for actuating thisplatform, and also showing the contact mechanism; Fig. 3 is a sectionupon the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow andshowing the incandescent lamps for illuminating the card, the solenoidsfor raising the card rack and the spring for carrying part of the weightof the armature and attachment; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cardremoved from the card rack and provided with legends indicating prices;

and Fig. 5 is a diagram of the wiring and electrical connections.

A casing is shown at 6 and it is provided with a slot 7 disposed acrossits front, and it is further provided near its bottom witha fastening 8.Mounted upon this casing are supports, one of which is shown at 9, forthe purpose of sustaining it. A pair of solenoids are shown at 10 andthey are provided with movable cores 11. A card rack is shown at 12, andmounted within it is a card 7 13 which may serve as a price card, ashereinafter described. This card rack is mounted upon a platform 14which is connected with the cores 11 and adapted to reciprocatetherewith when the solenoids 10 are energized and deenergized.

A sleeve 15 extends through the platform 14 and is connected securelytherewith. Connected securely with the sleeve 15 is a spiral spring 17,and extending through this spiral spring and through the sleeve 15 is aguide rod 16. A nut 13 and a lock nut 19 are mounted upon the upperportion of this guide rod which is provided with a thread 20 for thispurpose. A plate 21 supports the solenoids 10. Mounted upon the lowerend of the guide rod 16 is a nut 22 secured in position by a lock nut 23so as to serve as a limiting stop for preventing undue downward travelof the card rack 12. The spring 17 hangs from the nut 18.

A late 24 of insulating material is mounted within the casing, andsecured upon it are contact plates 25, 26, 27 spaced apart, as indicatedin Fig. 2. A contact slide 28 is mounted upon a leaf spring 28, in suchmanner as to bear against one or more of the plates 25, 26, 27. The leafspring 28 is carried by the platform 14. Incandescent lamps are shown at29, 30 and are supported by the casing. A wire 31 connects the contactplate with the incandescent lamp 20. Another wire 32 connects the lampwith the contact plate 27. A wire 33 is connected with the plate 26 andfrom this plate a wire 34 extends to the solenoids 10. From the latter awire 35 leads to a key 36, or equivalent device for periodically openingand closing the circuit, and from this member a wire 37 leads to anotherwire 38. This wire is connected with both of the lamps 29, 30, through ahand switch 38. The price card 13 is provided with legends 39,preferably indicating prices, and is translucent so as to exhibit theselegends.

The operation of my device is as follows: The card 13 being mountedwithin the card rack 12, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and theswitch 38" being closed, the key 36, or equivalent member, is caused tomake the contact. A circuit, controllable entirely by the key 36, isthereupon closed, this circuit being as follows: wire 33, contact plate26, wire 34, solenoids 10, wire 35, key 36, wire 37, wire 38, thencethrough the source of electricity, not shown, to wire 33. The solenoids10 being energized, the cores are lifted and carry with them the cardrack 12 and the card 13. The legend 39 being normally exposed to viewthrough the slot 7, when the card is raised this legend is hidden, andin its place the legend 40 makes its appearance.

The card remains in its uppermost position I so long as the circuitabove traced remains closed, and assoon as this circuit is opened thespring 17 allows the platform 14 to gently descend by force of gravity,thus again exposing the legend 39.

It will be understood that the platform 14 and parts movable with it,including the card rack 12, hang from the lower end of the spring 17,and that this spring pulls in the same direction as the solenoids 10.This is for the purpose of allowing the platform to return gently to itsnormal position, and to carry part of the weight of the platform,thereby permitting it to act under the influence of feeble currents.

While the circuit above traced is controlled directly by the key 36,there are other circuits not thus directly controlled. When the contactslide 28 is in its lowermost position, as indicated in Fig. 2, itconnects together the contact plates 26, 25, as indicated by the diagramin Fig. 5. The following circuit is thus completed: wire 33, contactplate 26, contact slide 28, contact plate 25, wire 81, lamp 29, wire 38,to the source of power, and thence to Wire 33. This circuit ights thelamp 29 at the instant when the platform is practically in its lowermostposition. Upon the up stroke of the platform, however, the slide 28connects together the contact plates 26, 27, thereby completing anothercircuit, as follows :7 Wire 33, contact plate 26, contact slide 28-,contact plate 27, wire 32, incandescent lamp 30, wire 38, to source ofpower, thence to wire 33. The lamp 29 is therefore lighted when theplatform 14 is practically at its uppermost limit. Such being t e case,the lamps 29, 30 successively flash, one at the instant when the legend39 is exposed, and the other when the only legend visible is the onenumbered 40. The effect upon the eye of the observer, therefore, issimply that one legend, together with the light for exhibiting it,disappears, and that the other legend, accompanied by the light forexhibiting it, makes its appearance, the legends thus being presentedalternately to the gaze of the observer. The hand switch 38 controls thelamp circuit only, the solenoid circuit being independent of it, as willbe seen from Fig. 5.

Except as required by the scope of the appended claims, I do not limitmyself to the particular apparatus above described, nor to the exactarrangement of the electrical connections, nor in all instances to theuse of lamps in the particular relation stated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

1. The combination of a casing, a magnetic member mounted therein, aplatform provided with means whereby it may be lifted by said magneticmember, a card provided with a plurality of legends, means forsupporting said card upon said platform so that said legends are exposedsuccessively to view as said latform is moved, and means for automaticaly illuminating said legends at the instant only when they occupycertain predetermined positions.

2. The combination of a reciprocating platform, a display member mountedthereupon and provided with legends to be brought successivelyinto view,contact mechanism controllable by said platform, and a plurality ofelectric lamps connected with said contact mechanism, said lamps beingthus controllable by movements of said reciprocating platform.

3. The combination of a reciprocating platform, a display member mountedthereupon and provided with legends to be brought successively intoview, magneticallyoperated mechanism for actuating said platform,contact mechanism controllable by movements of said platform, andelectric lamps connected with said contact mechanism and adapted to belighted and extinguished thereby.

4. The combination of a display member provided with a plurality oflegends, a spring for supporting said display member, and a magneticmember for lifting said display member by aid of said spring, saidmagnetic member thus consuming a minimum of electric energy.

5. The combination of a movable display member, means for imparting areciprocating motion thereto, a contact to be closed by the movement ofsaid display member in one direction, a different contact to be closedby the movement of said reciprocating member in the opposite direction,separate lamps connected with said contacts and each adapted to belighted when said reciprocating member reaches a predetermined point inits travel, and to be extinguished when said re ciprocating memberleaves said point.

6. The combination of a casing provided with a slot, a movable platformmounted within said casing, magnetic mechanism for moving said platformin one direction, a spring for cushioning the movement of said platformin the opposite direction and for assisting said magnetic mechanism acard rack mounted upon said platform, a card mounted within said cardrack and provided with legends, said legends being adapted to registerwith said slot, an electric lamp for illuminating said legends, andcontact mechanism controllable by movements of said platform forlighting and extinguishing said lamp.

7. The combination of a reciprocating member provided with legends,mechanism for actuating said member so as to bring said legendsalternately into substantially the same position, a lamp disposedadjacent to said reciprocating member, and means controllable by saidlast-mentioned mechanism for automatically lighting said lamp when oneof said legends reaches said position, and for extinguishing said lampwhen said legend moves from said position.

8. The combination of a movable display member provided with a pluralityof intelligible characters, means for actuating said display member soas to cause one of said characters to occupy a position formerlyoccupied by another, a plurality of stationary lamps disposed ad'acentto said position, and mechanism for ghting said lamps alter- 15 natelyand for extinguishing the same.

9. The combination of a display member provided with a plurality oflegends, means for causing said display member to reciprocate so as tomove said legends into substan tially the same position, a plurality ofstationary lamps, one -for each le end, said lamps having diflerentpositions reflatively to said first-mentioned position, and means forautomatically lighting and extinguishing said lamps one at a time.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

PERCY L. DIRKING.

Witnesses:

H. E. SoHULER, MARK SALMON.

